Household pets and other things Americans spend $53 billion on

Marc Wyerstall and his children, Alex and Amelia, try to decide on adopting a young dog in Salt Lake City this past July. (Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)

Adding new meaning to the phrase “fat cats,” Americans spent an estimated $52.87 billion on pets in 2012, more than triple the amount expended 18 years ago, according to the American Pet Products Association.

Nearly two out of three U.S. households own a pet. Four in 10 have a dog, and one in three have a cat. Felines exceed canines in sheer numbers, however: 86 million (two per cat owner) to 78 million.

They’re both well behind freshwater fish, of which there are 151 million, or 11 per owner.

What else do Americans spend $53 billion on? Nuclear weapons, according to a 2009 study by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Black Friday shopping (in 2011), per the National Retail Federation.